Washington, D.C.--Congressman Eliot Engel announced that $17,095,183 in emergency education funding has been awarded for schools in Rockland County. This funding will be used to help save education-related jobs, and maintain programs for low-income students and students with disabilities. Specifically, the schools will receive $6,177,183 in Title I funds and $10,918,000 in IDEA funds (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act), with half the money to be distributed immediately and the rest in September.

Nationwide, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provides $13 billion in Title I funds, which helps low-income students, and $13.5 billion in IDEA funds, which helps students with disabilities. This is the first of two installments of direct funding for Title I and IDEA programs that for school districts under President Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Rep. Engel said, “Money for education is the best investment a country can make. I say this as a former teacher and as a legislator. This is an investment that will reward those students and our country for years to come.”

The money is allocated as follows:
School District Title 1 IDEA Total
East Ramapo $5,897,382 $5,640,000 $11,537,382
Ramapo Central 159,006 1,042,000 1,201,006
Clarkstown Central 1,850,000 1,850,000
Nyack 120,795 717,000 837,795
South Orangetown 670,000 670,000
Pearl River 559,000 559,000
Nanuet 440,000 440,000

In addition to the Title I and IDEA investments, the economic recovery plan also created a state stabilization fund to help stabilize state and local budgets and restore harmful cuts to education. Along with announcing the release of Title 1 and IDEA funding for local districts, the Obama administration also issued guidelines to clarify how these stabilization funds must be used to help clear up recent confusion over whether the state can decide how local districts and colleges use those funds. States can now apply for this stabilization funding.

The guidelines confirm that while states allocate the funds, it should be up to local school districts and colleges and universities to decide how to use this emergency aid, not left up to states. The guidelines also reaffirmed that state stabilization funds should be used for three purposes: to backfill harmful cuts to K-12 and higher education, to stave off teacher layoffs, and to modernize school facilities – which could create new jobs.

IDEA is the major federal program that provides funding for special education and related services to students with disabilities. The Title I program provides funds to low-income school districts that are in even greater need during the economic downturn. The funds appropriated through the Recovery Plan are distributed through the previously defined IDEA and Title I formulas.